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When Matt Groening and David X. Cohen originally pitched Futurama to Fox, they were not met with initial support.[1] In fact, the show had scared them somewhat with its setting and unusual characters,[2] so in fact they told them to bring them a more down to Earth episode, which became "I, Roommate",[2] unfortunately their reaction to it was plainly "worst. episode. ever",[3] which made its runners conclude that they'd just do the show they wanted to do, rather than appease 20th Century Fox.[2]

Matt Groening and David X. Cohen, despite not doing any direct writing duties, except for a few episodes, stayed close with the project throughout its run to ensure its quality and its story remain en par with their original vision.

But Futurama did not have it easy on the Fox Network, where they treated it carelessly by moving its airings on and off, to little avail for fans to find them. In addition, they ended up airing them out of order. When ratings suffered as a result, they did not want to order a fifth production season, and said they should consider that season 4 might be their last season they'll do, so better make their series finale something special.[4]

As a result, they picked Ken Keeler to write "The Devil's Hands Are Idle Playthings", which would give some closure, but still contain loose strings in case they were brought back.[5] However, no word ever came,[4] and by Spring, 2003, they were officially cancelled.

After several years of running in syndication on Adult Swim and strong DVD sales, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment re-approached the show runners to do a direct-to-DVD film, and after some negotiation, decided to do four direct-to-DVD films.[6] 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment's motivation came from the very strong DVD sale, as well as the good ratings it had had on Adult Swim during its hiatus.

In addition, Comedy Central signed a contract to obtain the airing rights of Futurama on cable television in the United States from 2008. In addition, the direct-to-DVD films were to be cut up into a total of 16 episodes (which would become production season 5) to air on Comedy Central.

When the films were originally announced, fans themselves thought this was another opportunity to get the show back as a TV season. They argued that strong DVD sales of these films may give motivation to Comedy Central and 20th Century Fox Television to purchase a production season.

And after months of intense speculation, Comedy Central announced the news of an order of 26 episodes, to split up into 2 broadcast seasons.

On 17 July, 20th Century Fox Television announced that the main cast of Futurama would go on recasting, opening for new actors to audition.[7] 20th Century Fox Television cited that salary negociations had collapsed with the voice actors, who, according to several reports wanted 75,000 dollars per episode in salary,[8] however this number remains unconfirmed by 20th Century Fox Television or the voice actors' reps.[9] However, others firmly believe that 20th Century Fox Television is doing a negotiation ploy to get the voice actors to cut their salary demands,[9][10] and cited cases where 20th Century Fox Television had done the same thing for The Simpsons in the past,[8] and they still have the same voice actors.[10]